Mythoria

As the session began the group had enjoyed a bit of fun refitting their characters and some fine food and drink at the festival in their honor. Part way through the festival the group was found and brought before the Duke. At the Dukes request the group prepared themselves to perform a demonstration of their battle prowess in a mock battle with two dwarves selected by Berand, the castellan. These two were supplemented by several other by the Duke himself to provide a realistic and fair battle for the party.

The group performed well in the demonstration and the group held the upper hand through most of the encounter. This combat was only a diversion for the real encounter to come. The group was beset by an undead beholder from a space rift similar to others the group had encountered. Eventually the group defeated the creature, although the group was sorely pressed on many occasions.

As the creature fell its true nature showed itself. The creature and the rift were only an elaborate magical effect perpetrated by the Duke to “discredit” the party and show them for less than they were.

The dwarves had begun preparing for a feast. Duke Fargrim was grateful to the party for their assistance in retrieving Prince Thorfin, but he did not want to make too much of their assistance. Prince Thorfin and those that you rescued have much different feelings about the situation. They, through the Castellan Berand, have maneuvered the situation to arrange and hold a large feast in your honor.

Just because there is a feast doesn’t mean the Orc’s have gone away. Patrols and guard stations are sill on duty being vigilant for trouble. those not on dute were almost merry as they arranged tables, cooked food and debated the best kinds of ale they had. It had been many long years since something uplifting like this had happened. Things were almost festive….for dwarves. Something that the group was also in desperate need of. As a result the group was dispersed looking for equipment, spreading the word of Moradin and enjoying a few moments of rest.

The party; Articus, Thar, Talmour, Feral and Torec discover these details later in the day…...

During the preparations Rohir was approached by Berand for his insight into a matter. It seemed that something of note was discovered in one of the store-rooms. Berand gave no sign that there was any danger and thus Rohir went to investigate.

Rohir followed Berand to the storage room. The tale is that a dwarf while retrieving some casks of several hundred year old drink discovered a sigil in the wall. The Dwarf had touched the sigil and suffered no ill effects. The symbol resembled the symbol of Colloron that Rohir wears.

Rohir and Berand arrived at the storage room and Rohir began examining the symbol. The symbol was etched into the wall behind where the Kegs lay. It was indeed a symbol of Corrolon, but with additional protective shielding symbols incorporated. Further investigation uncovered that the walls seem to be damaged and the clay plaster, that previously had hidden the symbol, had broken loose. This was most likely caused by the recent earth quakes cased by the dimensional rifts plaguing the area. The symbol itself only very faintly radiated any magic.

Old fables and sermons spoke of a symbol such of this. The tale goes as such: It was a type of imprisonment that at one time was used to contain Joran Brightleaf. He was an eladrin assasin that was sent to slay the priests of Corrolon. He failed in his duty, but rather than be put to death he was imprisoned in a room of stone with magic wards. The priest Dardallion or Corollon was also imprisoned in a crystal incorporated into the wards so that he could empathetically help to rehabilitate Joran. Once released, Joran became one of the staunchest defenders of the faith and helped to raise the church of Corrolon to new heights of greatness.

There were also fragments of stories that this sort of containment has been used other times in the past, but the details of how the symbol and prison were created or managed were not among the details.

Thus Rohir proceeded to uncover a bit more of the hidden prison to find where the actual protective wards and entrance were located. As the wall came apart the digging of the pick disrupted the wards on the prison and resulted in a large explosion.

Berand was thrown from the room and the door blocked by a massive stone. Rohir was hurt and thrown to the ground by the blast. With Berand knocked unconscious no one knows what actually transpired next. It is assumed that Rohir did battle with the creature that was imprisoned, but nothing beyond that is known.

It is assumed, and this is related to everyone by Zachar, that Rohir must have ended up touching the control crystal. The creature must have taken it when the wall exploded and was intent on destroying it to kill the guardian trapped inside. Only with the death of the guardian could the creature truly escape the remaining wards. Zachar knows that the crystal was keyed to allow someone of the faith of Corollon to trade places with Zachar. This was typical when the being trapped for rehabilitation was either extremely long lived or immortal.

Having fought the trapped creatures before, Dust Demons, Zachar did battle with the creature and dispatched it. The demon had obviously not been reformed. Zachar then proceeded to work his way out of the rubble and dig through the stone blocking the door.

Berand, now awake heard the digging and began to dig/force his way back into the room. He was finally able to force his way into the room. To his fear, Rohir was nowhere to be seen and some indigo skinned humanoid stood in this place. He attacked this person thinking it responsible for Rohirs disappearance. Zachar held back from attacking Berand, but Berand had no such notions and blows were traded. The guardian was finally able to use his skills at diplomacy to convince Berand of his sincerity. He was taken in custody and locked in a cell for several hours while the party and duke were assembled.

He was eventually brought before Duke Fargrim, the dwarves and eventually the party themselves to answer everyones questions. Zachar had comported himself with dignity and honor, even offering up weapons that his jailers were not aware of. Duke Fargrim and Berand were eventually satisfied with the base character of Zachar and released him. Zachar does have a dwarf shadow that keeps watch on him, just to make sure of his activities.

Recap of prior history

Campaign synopsis

The campaign started with the party in Tellenore. They were being sworn in to the Mythoric Guard along with two other groups. The directive of the guard being the protection of all the villages of Mythoria. The ceremony was interrupted by a lone dragonborn female named Athyla. The party learned that the village of Duhnik had been attacked a couple days before and set out to determine what happened and possibly search for survivors. There was a slim chance that Duhnik could still be fighting a defensive action after a couple days, but only if they were lucky.

The party set out through difficult terrain and encountered 5 different roving groups of goblins over the course of the first day and night. One such battle taking place as the party rested for the night at a stream. The second day when the party realized they were off course climbed a slight rise only to find themselves cornered by a fearsome foulspawn hulk. In escaping, the group lost three of their number, Gan, Mak and Yor. After the escape the roars of the foulspawn hulk brought several foulspawn grue down on the party. The group attempted to evade the foulspawn grue, but were not entirely successful. They fought the remaining grue and set out again.

Through the rest of the day and the following day the party encountered two more bands of kobolds and goblins. Late on that day the party arrived at Duhnik and began scouting. They were seen by a group of hobgoblin scouts and before the group could kill all thee one of them escaped. The party took a circuitous route and had a cold camp in the dense woods.

The following day the party ambushed and defeated two patrols of hobgoblins and goblins. Worn down by the previous fights the party encountered the Orc priest Grayn and his followers. The battle with the orcs, hobgoblins and a mighty ogre went poorly for the group and they were defeated.

Some time later the group came back to consciousness. They were all bound and shackles within the back of a wagon. A wagon that was part of the convoy of materials that Grayn and his group were sent to retrieve to the detriment of Duhnik. Two more of the party had died by this point, the clerics Hip and Fin. The party discerned that the wagons they were in were traveling though the feywild. The group also learned that there seems to be invisible portals around the area of Mythoria and the orcs through some sort of ritual had access to this portal which helped them travel more easily to the lands of Mythoria.

The convoy was attacked at several points by something fearsome and the hundreds of creatures traveling with the caravan seemed on edge. The feywild might offer them easier passage than the difficult terrain of Mythoria, but there were still hazards that even several hundres orcs and goblins feared to encounter.

After just over a day of travel the wagons passed through another portal onto the snow driven crags of a mountain side. The wagons entered the orc fortress of Gorosh, and the party was led away to a set of slave pens. The party learned that the orcs had two young dragons captive and were using the materials scavenged from Mythoria to build a mighty fortress without drawing the attention of the dragon overlord of the area named Kelatherax.

A mixup in communication left the party without anyone watching them too closely. They managed to escape from their shackles and get away into the twisting streets and corridors of the city. An extended chase ensued and after finding some modest equipment and fighting several groups of orcs the party escaped into the tunnels underneath Gorosh. Along the way the group rescued a dwarf by the name of Gawug. He informed the group that his people used to rule the caverns now occupied by the orcs and had been retreating farther underground. His city of Dengard was still located below and he would help guide the party back there.

The party encountered several bands of orcs and goblins in the subterranean passages and even fought a party of cave trolls that ambushed the group. In a fight by a subterranean lake the party rescued a cleric named Torin and his dwarven companion Kalus. Together they helped the group fight their way through the last groups of orc patrols and reach the safety of Dengard. After several days of fleeing and fighting the party could finally rest without worry.

Once in Dengard the group was kept under house arrest while they waited for an audience with the ruler. The following day the party was lead to a meeting with Berand and while receiving his praise and thank for rescuing one of their own was interrupted by Duke Fargrim. Fargrim and Berand are at odds with how to deal with strangers and the route to take to see the dwarves to safety. Berand had tried to hold a meeting without Fargrim to get the party on favorable terms with his ideas. Fargrim put an end to that, but in the end through diplomacy and skill got Fargrim to agree to offering the party some support.

The party was led away to the dwarven common room where the evening meal was under way. Before the party could avail themselves of much food or drink an alarm was sounded. Dengard was under attack by a band of orcs and goblins that emerged from BELOW Dengard. The party helped to fight off the invaders and were offered rewards by Berand for their valiant bravery. In the aftermath of the attack it was discovered that roughly 20 dwarves were unaccounted for, among them the prince in line for the dukedom, Prince Thorfin. The group also learned that the clan markings of the attacking force was different from that of the orcs above. A new faction was trying to assert itself in the area.

The party agreed to set out after the orcs and after grabbing equipment set out. The cleric Torin agreed to travel with the group and it was discovered that he was from one of the villages that had been destroyed many years ago.

The tunnels of the underdark were much different than the wilderness that the party was used to and the trail went cold and the party became lost. In finding their trail again the party was attacked by a band of undead skeletons and a small hive of kruthik. Eventually the group found the trail of the orcs that lead them to a long abandoned dwarven tomb.

The party fought a group of hobgoblins and some rage drakes. They then fought a running battle with several groups of goblins, kobolds, hobgoblins and an ettercap. After this extended battle the party encountered their first “reality rip” during which they lost another member of the party. Luckily for the group a dwarven cleric was pulled through the rift and agreed to travel with them. Low on resources the group fought one last group of dire rats and kobolds before needing to rest. During the battles the sneaky kobolds kept using their special powers to escape from battle and hinder the party at a later time. While rescuing one of the captive dwarves the kobolds killed the dwarf rather than let the party rescue her.

The party rescued several dwarves and spent a lot of time trying to keep them alive as they progressed through the tomb. Several oozes and ettercaps met their end at the hands of the group, but the kobolds continued to be elusive and difficult to deal with.

The party pushed on to try and rescue all the dwarves before they were slain or taken away to be eaten. Several of the party were defeated, but a couple players escaped and were able to rest. They returned to free their friends just as the orcs were taking “fresh meat” to the “Voracious One”. With the guards weakened and part of the party at full health the group was able to rescue their friends and several more dwarves.

The party learned from the remaining dwarves that there was a creature known as the “Voracious One” that the orcs were paying tribute to in order to use the catacombs as their lair. The dwarves suspected that the prince may be still alive but was being held captive along with more dwarves in the tunnels closer to the “Voracious One”.

The party pressed on and fought a group of zombies and ghouls and finally encountered the “Voracious One”. In another extended battle the kobolds caused yet more trouble for the group by calling for reinforcements from several demons and lycanthropes. The party one through and managed to keep all the dwarves alive.

In a last room, a temple, the group discovered the remaining living dwarves. Prince Thorfin was among them. The party had to defeat a band of kobold illusionists and skulks some of which still managed to escape. The party rested and recovered their powers and set out to return to Dengard. Along the way there was another major rip in reality and the party had to make a huge detour to find a way to return to Dengard. While returning to Dengard the party encountered a patrol of orcs that appeared to be scouting the newly formed tunnels caused by the rip. The party survived and in short order arrived at the outer reaches of the tunnels of Dengard.

Duke Fargrim, Berand and all of the dwarves were extremely thankful for the parties assistance in rescuing the dwarves. The group was offered status as member of Dengard and given free reign of the halls of Dengard. The party rested and received information from Berand that the dwarves had discovered a new tunnel that lead into a secluded area of Gorosh near the slave pens. It did not appear that the orcs were aware of this new tunnel yet.

This is where the game will resume. There is a sense of urgency to take the next steps. Once the orcs discover the tunnel they will set up guards and possible launch an attack against Dengard through this new path. The group will have roughly a week or so while the dwarves discuss the best tactics to take. Everyone should be 6th level now and has plenty of time to replace ritual books and other equipment.